Chapter 26

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: There Is No Mercy 26

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"How could I possibly go to such a place in your place, Lady...?"

"From what I've seen, Richel Lady is the most suitable, so that's why I'm asking you. I should be the one attending originally, but I'm busy, and my parents are too, so I need to appoint a proxy. I think Richel Lady can represent me there."

Bellieta took Richel's hand, who was too moved to speak, and smiled warmly.

"You can do it, right?"

"O-Of course, Lady! I'll handle it perfectly so you won't have any worries! Just leave it to me!"

Her voice brimmed with joy and delight.

Richel bowed repeatedly, savoring the opportunity given to her, before returning to her seat.

The other ladies watched Richel with eyes full of deep envy.

They thought she had perfectly caught Bellieta's eye with this chance.

Bellieta's proposal had created a rift among the ladies.

The dynamic where Richel, thought to be at the very bottom, chattered away endlessly had completely flipped.

Now, she didn't even open her mouth first and freely tossed out subtle barbs at the other ladies.

Yet the others couldn't say a word against Richel.

All because Bellieta had simply called her over.

"Lordburn Viscount."

Bellieta replaced her cooled teacup with a warm one and gave a leisurely smile.

"I hope there won't be a second mistake."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Then, I'll be looking forward to it."

Bellieta thought of Sierra's faintly visible face beyond the rising steam from her tea and curved her lips into a thin smile.

Noble Sierra, elegant Sierra, lofty Sierra.

My most beloved friend.

The friend I want to resemble.

And the friend I hate.

"I wish you'd come back."

To those days when you danced to escape my palm.

Bellieta imagined Sierra, who soared in the skies, crashing to the ground and rolling in the mud, and let a bright, innocent smile bloom on her face.

Not long after lunch, the detailed schedule arrived.

The final preliminaries, which had started in the morning, were wrapping up, and the main tournament was about to begin soon.

"The finals are tomorrow? That's a tight schedule."

Considering most tournaments took at least three or four days, the main event was exceptionally short.

Maybe they're rushing because of the rainy season.

Well, the sooner it ends, the better for me.

I folded the schedule and stood to attend the opening ceremony for the main tournament.

I considered changing clothes, but I hadn't brought many for the two-day event, and without a maid, I gave up.

In the end, I headed to the venue with only my escort knight, Riphert.

Entering the prepared VIP seats for the major sponsors, the castle lord, who had already taken his seat, greeted me again.

I gave him a brief nod of greeting before glancing at my seat and the two empty ones beside it.

Excluding Brilloxen, the major sponsors changed every time.

The report from the last tournament listed the Edgar Marquis family as one of the top sponsors.

This year, no announcement had been made yet, so I didn't know who would claim those seats.

As I sat, the castle lord took the seat across from me.

"The tournament will start soon. We'll run through the semifinals today and hold the finals tomorrow. Ah, did you receive the notice about the updates?"

"What do you mean?"

"This tournament is much shorter due to the rainy season. That's not great for the tourists who come to watch. So, before the finals end, there's a formal exhibition match with the knights prepared. It'll be short matches with the knights, then the finals, and end with the awards."

No issues there, so I nodded briefly.

Satisfied with my response, the castle lord smiled and looked down below.

The crowd was filling up, and the opening drew near, but the seats beside me remained empty.

Who's so late?

As I glanced around, the door opened right on cue.

"Here it is!"

A voice pitched so gratingly high.

I turned at the familiar tone, and an unwelcome face came into view.

"Oh my, the Brilloxen Lady is here too?"

The woman striding ahead was Richel, who had stuck to Bellieta's side, chattering noisily.

Following behind her was a woman with brown hair and a calm expression.

Bellieta's follower even more than Richel.

Piolett Baylor, the eldest daughter of the Baylor family, the right-hand retainers of the Bozbon Duke.

"Nice to see you here. First time since the ball, right? Forget what happened at the last ball and let's get along during this tournament."

I stared silently at Richel, who smiled with her infuriatingly brazen face and extended her hand.

I rolled my eyes away.

Piolett sat in her chair, staring ahead, indifferent to Richel's babble.

Piolett's face was utterly expressionless, devoid of any joy or sorrow.

"What?"

Feeling my gaze, Piolett turned to me with dry eyes and asked coldly.

I shook my head and looked away, and her gaze drifted off.

I watched Richel turn back angrily after being ignored, then glanced at Piolett.

'The Baylor family doesn't have the funds to sponsor this tournament.'

Of course, as retainers of Bozbon, sponsorship was possible, but there was no reason for it.

No honor, no foundation, no pretext.

Sierra narrowed her eyes at the sudden situation.

As worry creased her brow—wondering if Bellieta had taken the last seat too—the door opened again.

"Ah, you've arrived. That gentleman is the owner of the remaining seat."

The castle lord, who had stayed seated even when Piolett entered, jumped up and approached the door.

Curious who it could be, I stood as well.

"You've had a long journey, Your Grace!"

Behind the bowing castle lord, a familiar face entered my view.

...Why is that man here?

"Enough with the excessive welcome."

The ash-gray-haired man entered leisurely, accepting the greeting.

It was Aden.

Spotting me, Aden grinned and boldly took the seat right next to mine, crossing his long legs casually and lifting his chin.

"Long time no see, Sierra."

Stunned by Aden's sudden appearance, I hurriedly leaned toward him.

Aden leaned his upper body toward me in response.

I whispered quietly into his ear, now close to my face.

"...Did you win the lottery?"

You said you had no money—how did you get here?

Aden's face twisted in bewilderment.

With the castle lord's proclamation signaling the start of the main tournament, the event curtain rose.

Amid the knights and aspiring knights fervently preparing and focusing their nerves, Rick Derind, Hautman, and Altas huddled together.

Rick, their de facto leader, glanced around cautiously and acted with low, secretive movements.

"You really gonna do it?"

Hautman threw a worried look at Rick with an anxious face.

Rick eyed his timid, worrywart friend pitifully before widening his eyes.

"Just trust me and follow. Do what I say, and there'll be no problems."

"But isn't it too risky? What if it goes wrong?"

"It won't go wrong, I told you. Do you really think this could fail in the first place?"

Even as Rick raised his nose confidently, Hautman only rolled his worried eyes repeatedly.

Altas, who had been listening quietly from the side, shifted his hips slightly and licked his lips.

"So, Rick. If we do this, the reward is definitely guaranteed?"

"I told you yes. Didn't you see at the ball before? Have you ever seen the Lady make such a sad face?"

"No."

As Altas answered reluctantly, Rick nodded as if to say 'see?'

Altas met eyes with Hautman, who was restlessly darting his anxious gaze.

"Besides, whether it's me or you guys, we're all treated like outcasts by our families anyway. Can't get any worse than this. But if we succeed, the Lady will remember us, and we'll gain some standing in our families. Hautman."

Hautman, curled up like a frightened pill bug, lifted his head.

"Your father, who saw you as a pathetic coward, will look at you differently. Then you can resume your knight training that got cut off."

"......"

"Same for you, Altas. You can make up for that incident before if we pull this off."

"Well... yeah."

"And I can finally shake off my past of always getting pushed around by my brother..."

Rick trailed off, then lifted his head with bulging eyes.

Hautman flinched, while Altas sighed; their reactions differed.

Rick reached out, gripping their shoulders, and put force into his voice.

"This could change everything. We can escape being family outcasts, you hear?"

"...Haa, fine. Whatever. If it's your plan, we probably won't get caught, so no big deal."

Altas scratched his head with an irritated tone.

Rick stared intently at the silent Hautman.

Hautman, who would jump at the sound of a pigeon, chewed his lip for a long while before finally nodding.

Having gotten confirmation from both, Rick's eyes gleamed.

"Good. Then, since we won't pass even the first round in the main anyway, don't waste energy—just lose moderately. Got it?"

"Y-Yeah."

"And?"

To Altas's question, Rick flashed a sly, thick grin and looked outside.

Scanning the backs of people climbing onto the arena for the main tournament, Rick leisurely raised an eyebrow.

"We wait for night to deepen. Once darkness falls, everything will take care of itself."

Rick let out a sinister chuckle.

"Riplton sponsored the Genoa tournament every time. We needed to bolster our knights. But funds were tight, so we reduced the amount each year. Fortunately, thanks to someone's help, we could sponsor even more than usual this time."

While strolling the sponsored areas of Genoa Castle as the main tournament progressed, I heard Aden's excuse that wasn't quite an excuse.

His sudden appearance here was surprising enough, but showing up in the VIP seats for top sponsors was even more shocking.